There is a horizontal street called Prime Minister Hutong in the south of the T-shaped street at the entrance of the vegetable market outside Xuanwu Gate, which is named after Yan Song who lived here. In the late Qing Dynasty Guangxu period of the "Detailed Imperial Beijing Map", the Prime Minister's Hutong was also called the Rope Craftsman Hutong, and later changed its name to Shenxian Hutong and Prime Minister Hutong.

The vegetable market in the old capital is a prosperous place, and its style of "prosperous place of flowers and willows, gentle and rich township" is often talked about by literati. Before the construction of the railway in the Qing Dynasty, there were two main ways for people from other provinces to enter Beijing: people from various provinces along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal passed through the canal and passed through Tongzhou to enter Beijing; People from the western provinces along the Jinghan Road crossed the Lugou Bridge and entered Beijing through Guang'anmen, which accounted for seventy or eighty percent of the people entering Beijing from other places.

Entering Guang'anmen, facing the vegetable market, the natural inn hall here gathers, the shops and teahouses are lined up, only the scissors are sold with "Wang Mazi", "Lao Wang Mazi", "Real Wang Mazi", "Lao Wang Mazi" and several other shops. In the south of T-shaped street, there is Nanlaishun Restaurant, which is famous for its steamed dumplings; There is the earliest cheap roast duck shop in the capital in the rice market alley, there are the crane year hall pharmacy and Wu Yutai tea house in the west of the north Tiemen alley, and there is a famous "Guangheju" restaurant at the south entrance of the north half of the alley.

From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, there are probably few literati and political celebrities who have been active in the capital. In the northern half of the alley, there is an old house of Tan Sitong who was beheaded by "changing the law"; The southern half of the alley has the former residence of the great writer Mr. Lu Xun; In the Mishi Hutong, there is the former site where Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu founded the "Weekly Review", and Mr. Kang Youwei also lived here. As for the Prime Minister's Hutong, there are more celebrities who have lived, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Gong Zizhen, Liu Guangdi, Cai Yuanpei and others are all thunderous, "Jianhu Woman" Qiu Jin once served as a teacher in the women's school in the Prime Minister's Hutong, and Li Dazhao once founded the "Morning Bell Newspaper" in the Hutong......

The bustling vegetable market is also the killing place of the old capital, since 1644 Qing Shunzhi Emperor "Dingding Yanjing", the king of the world, the vegetable market mouth then became the capital of the law field, why, all thanks to its prosperity. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Guang'anmen Inner Street (then known as Danzhou Street) where the vegetable market is located is the downtown of Youzhou City, according to historians, the residence of the Jin Dynasty general Wushu is also on this street. "The Book of Rites: The Royal System" mentions: "The lord is in the court, and he is with the scholars." The prisoner is in the city, and the crowd abandons him. "The history of the market market has a long history in China, and the Qing Dynasty is just a continuation of the tradition. At that time, Xu Chengyao, the editor of the Hanlin Academy, wrote a poem "Passing the Vegetable Market": "After the twilight of the West Market, I returned with tears and tears, and the people of the city actually laughed and laughed, who knew that I was sad?" Where is this place? The skull is ancient. The blood is soaked into the soil, and the fishy smell is raw...... "The execution ground at the entrance of the vegetable market in the Qing Dynasty was in front of the "Crane Year Hall Pharmacy". The night before the execution, the officials of the criminal department will notify the shopkeeper of the "Crane Year Hall" to prepare wine and food. The next day, the arcade in front of the Crane Year Hall set up a tent and set up a table for the prison. The prisoner was escorted out of the prison of the Criminal Department, stood in the cage car and went out of the Xuanwu Gate, all the way south to the entrance of the vegetable market, knelt in front of the door of the Crane Year Hall and beheaded him.

Since ancient times, the people of the capital have had a hobby of watching the excitement, and they are often interested in the tragedy and bloody atmosphere of the head falling to the ground. At that time, the big thief Kang Xiaoba, the area around the entrance of the vegetable market was crowded with people, and there was a riot during the execution, trampling to death and injuring dozens of people, all because of the scramble to grab the best viewing position.

The execution ground is the place where the life of the convict ends, and it is also a place of entertainment for all living beings, and for the prisoners and executioners, the day of execution is also the day of wealth. The red pen of the prisoner is believed to be able to ward off evil spirits, the rope that binds the prisoner is said to be tied to the cow without panic, the steamed bun soaked in human blood can cure tuberculosis, and even the executioner's knife speed and beheading skills can be improved.

In the thirty-first year of Guangxu (1905), the minister Shen Jiaben asked Emperor Guangxu to delete Ling Chi and other heavy punishments, and Emperor Guangxu issued an edict to "delete them forever and change them to death". In 1911, the first criminal code in Chinese history to be modeled on the style and principles of modern Western criminal law, the Daxin Criminal Law, was promulgated, and the punishment of beheading was abolished. The bloody atmosphere at the entrance of the vegetable market gradually drifted into the depths of history...... It was also in this year that the Qing Dynasty fell. After entering the Republic of China, the murder execution ground was no longer located in the downtown area, and the old and young masters in the capital were also missing an important entertainment activity.

Before the Anti-Japanese War, the famous "Sanhe Gang" gang leader Xiao Jianbiao lived in Xuanwai Street Caishikou Prime Minister Hutong No. 15, this is a very particular three-into quadrangle, this is the Xianfeng period of the left servant of the Ministry of Qian Jinyao's house, after the death of the old man, the descendants are not good, eating, drinking, prostituting and gambling will lose the family property, this house will be in the hands of Xiao Jianbiao.

Xu Jinge's jeep stopped in front of the house, and instead of getting out of the car, he lit a cigarette and looked through the window at the shape of the streets around the house, which is his professional habit.

Xu Jinge obtained a lot of Xiao Jianbiao's secrets through interrogation of Hua Maoer and others, and he found out Xiao Jianbiao's situation in Chongqing through the secret bureau system, and this mysterious "Biao Ye" finally surfaced...... Once Xu Jinge locked on to the target, the plan in his mind gradually took shape.

At that time, Xiao Jianbiao instructed his subordinates to take advantage of the Lugou Bridge to start a war, and when the people in the city were panicking, they bloodied the Sato family of the "Kasahara Trading Company" and robbed a large number of cultural relics, calligraphy, paintings and property, including Ma Xianglan's "Orchid Bamboo Map". Xiao Jianbiao took advantage of the fierce battle between the Japanese army and the 29th Army in Nanyuan to escape from Beiping with some cultural relics, and finally moved to Chongqing, the capital of the country. Thanks to these cultural relics, he bribed the Chongqing officialdom with cultural relics, opened up the joints up and down, and established a sales network of smuggled materials covering the Kuomintang and most of the occupied areas in a short period of time. Xiao Jianbiao is a person without any principles, as long as there is profit, he can even make a deal with the devil. During the investigation, Xu Jinge found that Xiao Jianbiao had colluded with officials of the Ministry of National Defense, the National Relief Committee, the Refugee Relief Agency, the Ministry of Communications, and other departments to resell the military supplies transported by the Allied forces to China through the "Hump Route" to enemy-occupied areas. Based on Xu Jinge's grasp of the situation, Xiao Jianbiao, a bastard, shot him ten times.

Xu Jinge walked up the steps and rang the doorbell......

The door opened a crack, and the big man who guarded the door poked his head out, looked Xu Jinge in military uniform up and down, and said politely: "Who is this chief looking for?" ”

"You go and report, I want to see Mr. Xiao Jianbiao."

"I'm sorry sir, you're ......"

"I'm Major Xu Jinge from the Secret Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense."

"You...... Have you made an appointment with Mr. Xiao? ”

Xu Jinge's anger exploded: "Make an appointment for a fart!" Do you still want to make an appointment to see Xiao Jianbiao? Who does he think he is? Lao Tzu is giving him face, hurry up! ”

This scolding is more effective than anything else, and the janitor immediately knows that this person has a background, otherwise who would dare to be so arrogant? People who can name and scold Biao Ye are eighty percent unprovoked. Dahan bowed deeply: "Sir, please have tea in the living room, and I will inform Mr. Xiao immediately." ”

Xiao Jianbiao's Chinese-style living room door is a hollow camphor lattice door, and the door is engraved with illustrated wood carvings of "The Stone Record", dozens of different pieces, basically covering the synopsis of the story of "The Stone Record". The four pillars in front of the door are carved two stories of eight immortals crossing the sea, push the door in, the beam is hung with two plaques before and after, the main plaque is the name of the hall "Bairen Hall", and the secondary plaque is actually the handwriting of Yu Youren "The Wind and the Moon are boundless". Xiao Jianbiao's living room is not big, and the mahogany furniture in the Ming and Qing dynasties is not too luxurious from the perspective of the living room layout. Xu Jinge sat on a Ming-style circle chair, sipping tea while admiring the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall. On the east wall of the living room hangs a three-foot painting of ancient landscape paintings, Xu Jinge took a closer look at the painter's signature "bitter gourd monk", he remembered that this is the alias of the Qing Dynasty painter Shi Tao, the blank space of the picture is printed with the collection seals of different periods, Xu Jinge identified it, did not find the collection seals of the Qing Dynasty royal family, he concluded that this painting has been circulating among the people. Shi Tao's works are more, the age is only more than 200 years, except for a few fine products collected by the royal family, the value of the works circulated among the people is not comparable to the works of Mi Wanzhong, Lan Ying, Wen Zhenheng and other famous artists in the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, Xu Jinge likes the painter's painting style very much, Shi Tao is good at using ink, using both dry and wet shades, especially using wet brushes, through the infiltration of ink and the fusion of brush and ink, showing the dense atmosphere and profound state of mountains and rivers. The composition of this person's painting is also very novel, whether it is the clouds and smoke of the Yellow Mountain, the ink painting of the south of the Yangtze River, or the cliffs, the dead trees and jackdaws, they all strive to have a novel layout, the artistic conception is renovated, and his works have a kind of bold and lush momentum, and win with an unrestrained momentum.

Xu Jinge turned around and found that there was also a painting hanging on the west wall, which seemed to be an orchid bamboo pattern...... Xu Jinge understood in his heart that this was the "painting of Sister Yao'er" mentioned by Wen San'er.

That day in the "Cuiyunxuan" teahouse, Wen San'er couldn't remember the name of "Ma Xianglan", only said that it was a painting of a kiln sister in ancient times, painting orchids and bamboo, and the shopkeeper Chen of the "Treasure Pavilion" of the Liuli Factory sold it to the Japanese Sato at a price of 3,000 oceans. Xu Jinge was very impressed by this price, and he knew the value of 3,000 silver yuan in the 26th year of the Republic of China. For the sake of prudence, Xu Jinge also specially dressed as a cultural relics collector to visit a lot of cultural relics dealers in the glaze factory, many people still remember the public case of "Orchid Bamboo Map", all said that the "Treasure Pavilion" Chen shopkeeper is an unlucky egg, he is not blessed in his life, he can't stand Ma Xianglan, the "Orchid Bamboo Map" can only bring him disaster, and finally let Ma Xianglan die. At that time, the students of Yenching University boycotted Japanese products on fire, and the shopkeeper Chen, who didn't know how to die, insisted on selling "Orchid Bamboo Picture" to the Japanese, isn't this looking for bad luck? As a result, the news came out somehow, and the college students smashed the shop. It is said that there were a lot of people when they smashed the shop, and some hooligans and ruffians also followed the troubled waters to fish, and the belongings accumulated by the shopkeeper Chen for many years were destroyed in one fell swoop, and people were also injured. An old man who set up a stall in Liulichang said: "I heard that the shopkeeper Chen died, and he died because of it, otherwise he would have to be unlucky if he survived, and he would have to be unlucky to sell the things left by his ancestors to the little devil, and he would be blamed if he was not a traitor." ”

It seems that this is the "Orchid Bamboo Picture" that made a lot of noise back then.

"Sir Xu, the contemptible Xiao Jianbiao has lost his welcome, and he has made amends to you." Xiao Jianbiao, who was in a robe and a horse coat, walked into the living room and arched his hand.

Xu Jinge turned around: "Oh, you are Mr. Xiao Jianbiao?" It's hard to see you once! ”

"In Xia Xiao Jianbiao, the subordinates are ignorant and neglect Chief Xu, and the contemptible people have already scolded him, and please ask Chief Xu Haihan."

Xu Jinge got straight to the point and said: "Mr. Xiao, Xu has nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, since he is here, it must be a business matter, and he has to ask Mr. Xiao to cooperate." ”

"Chief Xu has something to say, I, Xiao Jianbiao, will obey my orders."

Xu Jinge took out a stack of official paper printed with the Kuomintang emblem from his briefcase and threw it on the table: "I have some materials here, please take a look at Mr. Xiao." ”

Xiao Jianbiao stared at Xu Jinge suspiciously, picked up the materials and browsed them, and then threw the materials on the table with a calm demeanor: "It seems that Chief Xu is very concerned about the private affairs of the contemptible people, dare to ask what are your plans?" ”

Xu Jinge lit a cigarette and took a puff, raised his head and sprayed the smoke to the ceiling: "Mr. Xiao, I don't have any specific plans for the time being, isn't this here to discuss with you?" ”

Xiao Jianbiao smiled: "The contemptible person has not dealt with the people of the Secret Bureau, it seems that it is really a mistake, but I still have a few friends over there in the Central Union, so let's make an appointment one day, Xiao will be the east, and then call the friends of the Central Union, please have a meal with the stationmaster Qiao of Beiping Station and your Chief Xu, everyone make friends, everything is easy to discuss." ”

Xu Jinge asked expressionlessly: "Since you are friends, you are not afraid of bringing them death?" ”

"Ouch, what do you mean? It's just that everyone gets to know each other in the name of eating, why are you so nervous? ”

Xu Jinge said word by word: "Xiao Jianbiao, I know that you have a lot of upper-level relationships, and there will be people who will excuse your crimes if necessary, but I tell you, your luck is not very good, because you have to admit your bad luck when you touch my hands, and to tell you the truth, you can kill you ten times if you pick out any one of your crimes." ”

Xiao Jianbiao retorted with a smile: "That's not necessarily, the people of your Secret Bureau are not immortals, how can you not eat the fireworks of the world?" During the Anti-Japanese War, the contemptible people also encountered some small troubles in Chongqing, and in the end, they were resolved one by one? For example, the 'hump route' is tense enough, but Mrs. Jiang's piano can occupy half of the cabin, and no one dares to let out half a fart of so many adults in Chongqing. Of course, if Chief Xu is willing to make me a friend, our brothers can discuss anything. ”

Xu Jinge smiled coldly: "You are right, our affairs in China are a mess of confused accounts, no one should think about it clearly, if you are prosecuted through legal procedures, I am really not sure, there are so many ** people to help you, maybe you will be praised as an anti-Japanese hero if you don't make trouble." But here's a little question, I don't know if you've thought about it? Our Secrecy Bureau is not a small account, and we often do things that throw out the children and the footwashing water. ”

What do you mean by that? Hope for Chief Xu to make it clear. ”

"Quite simply, what happens if you put a jug of water on the stove and boil it for an hour? Yes, the water has been boiled dry, evaporated, and disappeared into the air, please think about it, Mr. Xiao can think about it, water can be evaporated, can't people be evaporated? ”

Xiao Jianbiao's face changed, he knew too well the methods of the Secret Bureau, and when a big man like Wang Jingwei committed treason and defected to the enemy, the agents of the "military command" still dared to chase and kill him to Hanoi. During the Anti-Japanese War in Shanghai, agents of the "Military Command" and agent Wang Puppet No. 76 launched a series of bloody battles, and the methods were extremely cruel. Xiao Jianbiao had heard about it a long time ago, and he regretted that he had not had a relationship with the people of the "military command" at the beginning, so that now he has run into the muzzle of the gun of the Secrecy Bureau.

Xiao Jianbiao's tone finally softened: "Chief Xu, I, Xiao Jianbiao, am willing to cooperate with the Secret Bureau, please give me orders." ”

Xu Jinge smiled: "Thank you!" I appreciate Mr. Xiao's cooperative attitude, in a sense, you were the first agent to fight the Japanese, and you are not bad. ”

Xiao Jianbiao didn't know what to mean, he just looked at Xu Jinge blankly: "What does Chief Xu mean......"

Xu Jinge raised his chin towards "Orchid Bamboo Map": "Isn't that your trophy?" ”

Xiao Jianbiao's cold sweat flowed down all of a sudden......

The cat sat on a chair in the doorway, staring at the pedestrians walking by on the street with lost eyes, but all kinds of thoughts were spinning in her head. The first question is who is hacking themselves? If you want to say that when you worked under Biao Ye in the past, you did offend a lot of people, but that was eight or nine years ago, in recent years, you have been nesting in the "secret door" on Shouchang Street to eat, although it is despised, but I have not offended anyone, who brought those soldiers here? The flower cat has never dealt with the soldiers when he grows so big, and he doesn't know the depths, but now he understands, the most unprovoked person in these years is the soldier, people don't reason with you at all, come up and greet with **, in less than a minute, the flower cat has become a bloody person, the nose bone was broken, and the ribs were broken, so fucking ruthless! I don't know why I beat people like this, what kind of world is this! Hua Mao'er's memory is not very good, he has long forgotten that he has never beaten others before, and even more ferocious.

Hua Mao'er only remembered that day the GIs took themselves to an interrogation room, and a major officer kindly asked some questions, mainly about Biao Ye. Of course, the flower cat has to carry it to death, otherwise Biao Ye will not be able to spare himself in the future, and now although he is not in the "Dao'er", but the rules of the "Dao'er" can not be forgotten. Who knew that the major was a smiling tiger, he was not angry at all, just made a gesture, and the four GIs tied the flower cat to the "tiger chair" very neatly, in the blink of an eye, the flower cat had three bricks under the legs, and a sharp pain came from the legs, the flower cat felt that the endurance of his two legs at this time had reached the limit, as long as he added another brick, he would have to waste the rest of his life. A GI had already picked up the brick and was about to stuff it under the cat's leg, but he finally couldn't bear it anymore and let out a terrible scream from the depths of his throat: "Ah...... The soldier spares his life, I said, I will say it all......"

Hua Mao'er's will finally collapsed, the rules and righteousness of the rivers and lakes on the "Dao'er" can't be taken care of, he thinks that no one in the world can withstand this kind of torture, if anyone is not convinced, let him try it himself, anyway, Hua Mao'er is not going to carry it, let alone for Biao Ye, even if it is for his own father, he can't carry it...... Taken down from the "tiger chair", the flower cat asked and answered, and behaved very cooperatively. The major was satisfied, and finally gave Hua Mao'er ten dollars to treat his wounds, and sent him home in a jeep.

Hua Mao'er still doesn't know where the interrogation room is and what part of the major officer is, but he vaguely feels that these people are coming for Biao Ye, and it seems that Biao Ye doesn't know which fairy he has offended.

Hua Mao'er felt that the broken rib on the left side was a faint pain, he quickly changed his position to sit, fortunately his body was strong, and the injury healed quickly, and he couldn't get out of bed if he changed people for two months. Suddenly, a thought flashed through me...... Could this person who has made himself bad be Wen San'er's kid? Don't say it, it's really possible, I've been mixing rice on Shouchang Street for seven or eight years, and I've been calm, why did Wen San'er follow as soon as he showed up? The more Hua Mao'er pondered, the more he felt that Wen San'er was suspicious, in the interrogation room, the major was most interested in the killing of the Sato family back then, how did he know? Thinking of this, Hua Mao'er finally understood a little, and he regretted that he was too careless and underestimated this inconspicuous coachman. Back then, he only used half a catty of lotus white to get out of the situation of Sato's family from Wen San'er's mouth, Hua Mao'er wanted to make a means of blaming others, and set up a trap to put Wen San'er in, so that he could be a substitute for the dead, who knew that on the night of the move, this kid arrived in advance, and when he saw the corpse of the Sato family, he slipped faster than a rabbit. Now it seems that it was a mistake to leave Wen San'er with his life at that time, if he knew this, he should have done Wen San'er together that night. The reason for this is that Hua Mao'er had to admit that he really didn't take this roe deer mouse Wen San'er seriously at that time, which caused today's disaster.

After thinking about Wen San'er's matter, Hua Mao'er began to ponder the next question, if Biao Ye knew that he had put this matter aside, I am afraid that he would not have his own good fruit to eat. Hua Maoer has followed Biao Ye for more than ten years, and knows that he is insidious and vicious, although Hua Maoer is no longer a member of the "Triad Gang", but the rules of the "Triad Gang" will follow him for a lifetime. Hua Mao'er remembered the day he joined the gang, he drank blood wine in front of the portrait of his grandfather and swore a poisonous oath: betray his brother and divide his body with a knife...... Well, this time Hua Mao'er is not just a matter of betraying her brother, even the helper has let herself be sold, at this time, Hua Mao'er feels a burst of fear......

A soft hand was placed on the shoulder of the cat, and a familiar voice came from behind him: "Brother, what are you thinking?" ”

The flower cat turned her head suddenly, and was suddenly frightened, she was really afraid of anything, Xiao Jianbiao was wearing a coffee-colored soft satin robe and a black top hat standing behind him, with a shallow smile on his face...... If a person is afraid to the extreme, it is possible to have the courage to break the boat, Hua Maoer stabilized himself in an instant, and at the same time had a strong resentment towards the previous helper, it is your Biao Ye who is not righteous, I have shed blood for you for more than ten years, and I have not kicked me away, Lao Tzu does not owe you anything. Hua Mao'er glanced at the axe beside her, slowly stood up and arched her hand towards Xiao Jianbiao: "Master Biao, do you plan to do me here, or find a place to do it again?" ”

Xiao Jianbiao patted Hua Mao'er on the shoulder with a smile on his face: "Brother, what's wrong with you?" Who messed with my brother? Who are you angry with? Tell my brother, I'll give you anger. ”

Hua Mao'er was stunned, he didn't expect Biao Ye to be so kind and kind, and his every move was with the demeanor of a big brother, could it be that he was too careful?

Xiao Jianbiao looked into the room, turned his head and said to Hua Mao'er: "Brother, brother, I finally came to see you once, and you let me stand at the door?" Don't invite my brother into the house and sit down? ”

Hua Mao'er suddenly came to his senses, and he looked around in a panic: "Big brother, I'm dirty and messy here, there's no place to sit, I look ......"

Xiao Jianbiao walked into the room with his hands behind his back, looked around, and then calmly lifted the hem of his robe and sat on the messy and dirty bed. The flower cat also followed, and stood aside with her hands down. He felt that his face was feverish, this dilapidated house was very low, and there was a leak of wind everywhere in winter, and there was a bad smell in the room, and the sheets were full of speckled and suspicious stains, which made the noble Biao Ye sit here a little unpleasant.

Xiao Jianbiao's expression was gloomy, he didn't speak for a long time, and Hua Mao'er was silent. Suddenly, Xiao Jianbiao sobbed, Hua Mao'er was taken aback, he clearly saw Xiao Jianbiao's face full of tears, since following Biao Ye, he was the first time he saw Biao Ye cry.

Xiao Jianbiao choked up and said a few words that moved Hua Mao'er: "Brother, brother, I'...... I really didn't expect it...... My brother is living like this...... Brother, I'm ...... I'm sorry for you! ”

Hua Mao'er felt a hot current from his lower abdomen jumping upwards, straight to his head, he didn't know what to say for a while, just rubbed his hands and whispered: "It's been eight or nine years, I've long been used to it......"

Xiao Jianbiao finally cried: "Brother, I know you...... I feel wronged, woo...... After so many years, what kind of life have you lived, but you don't know...... Brother, I am also wronged in my heart, who should I talk to? In the 26th year of the Republic of China, I withdrew from Beiping on orders from above...... Those who do what we do are disciplined, and they don't tell their parents...... Don't tell your wife and children...... Brother, I really can't help it......"

Hua Mao'er asked cautiously, "Big brother, I don't understand, what do you mean......"

Xiao Jianbiao wiped away his tears: "Brother, now that the Anti-Japanese War has been won, I won't hide it from you, let's be honest, brother, I have long been the person who is the boss of the military commander, do you know the military commander?" ”

Hua Mao'er shook her head: "I don't know much, but I've heard a little bit vaguely, it seems to be a ** yamen, right?" ”

Xiao Jianbiao was sitting precariously with a solemn expression: "That's right, it is a secret organ of the National Army, officially known as the Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the National Military Commission, and it was renamed the Secret Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense in the 35th year of the Republic of China." I am mainly responsible for the intelligence work of the war against Japan, before the fall of Beiping in the 26th year of the Republic of China, I was ordered to evacuate Beiping, and later came to Chongqing, my brother has been doing secret work for eight years of the Anti-Japanese War, I said, we have discipline, and I can't tell you too much about detailed things. ”

Hua Mao'er suddenly realized: "I understand, Brother Dare is already a spy?" Brother, I really don't know Taishan, and I blame the eldest brother. Big brother, it's not a secret, brother, I resent the eldest brother, complained that the eldest brother was not righteous, brother I followed the eldest brother before and after the saddle for many years, the eldest brother dumped my brother with a word, a few days ago, I went to the house to meet the eldest brother, I didn't expect the gatekeeper to not even let me in, brother, I was really a little chilled, now I know, it must be the watchdog who did it behind the eldest brother's back......"

Xiao Jianbiao interrupted him: "Brother, I have to tell you the truth, it was my brother and I who didn't let you in that day, I want to blame you and me, why is this?" Listen to me tell you, brother, I have been busy with official business since I returned to Beiping, do you think, accept the enemy's property, confiscate the reverse property, and punish the traitors, this is not counting the investigation of ** elements, which is not a matter of burning eyebrows? Brother, I'm so busy, but I haven't forgotten the brothers in the gang, and I've been thinking about it, what is a brother? There are blessings to share, there are difficulties to share, there is a bite of my food, my brother is indispensable half a mouthful, and now my brother and I can be regarded as returning home, right? There is also an official and a half-position in **, but my brothers haven't touched my light yet, what should I do? You have to let my brother think about it, and get you an errand in the Secret Bureau, you know that we are doing secret work, and there is a one-line connection between superiors and subordinates, no matter what you do in person, but your true identity must not be exposed. Think about it, I have a lot of people there, and if I had softened my heart and invited you in that day, I am afraid that your errand would have been blown away. Brother, brother, do you understand my hard work? ”

Hua Mao'er's tears finally flowed, years of grievances and resentment were swept away, it seems that he is still careful, so many years, the eldest brother is still thinking about himself, in order to find an errand for his brother, how difficult is the eldest brother? I'm so ignorant. The more the flower cat thought about it, the more regretful it became, and suddenly fell to the ground crying: "Big brother, brother, I'm sorry for you, brother, I'm wrong to blame big brother, I'm a mess, I ...... I'll help ...... rules by myself" Hua Mao'er picked up the axe and wanted to chop off his right hand, Xiao Jianbiao quickly snatched the axe, and shouted with tears in his eyes: "Brother, what are you doing here?" It's my brother, I'm sorry for you, if you want to chop me, chop me! The cat hugged the eldest brother's leg and cried bitterly......

Xiao Jianbiao patted the back of the cat tolerantly: "Brother, don't cry, today is the day when you and my brother will meet again after a long absence, you should be happy, get up!" Get up! I have business to say. ”

The cat stood up and wiped away the snot and tears from her face with her sleeve.

Xiao Jianbiao's face suddenly became serious: "Comrade Ma Dashan, please stand upright." ”

The cat hurriedly folded her heels and straightened up.

"On behalf of the Secrecy Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China, I would like to announce the appointment of Comrade Ma Dashan, who is hereby appointed as a member of the Captain's Action Group of the Beiping Station of the Secrecy Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China, and will enjoy the salary and treatment of a captain officer of the National Army from now on. September 11, 36th year of the Republic of China. ”

The flower cat raised her chest and raised her head: "Thank you big brother for cultivating!" ”

Xiao Jianbiao frowned and corrected, "Call sir." ”

"Yes! Thank you for the cultivation. ”

"Comrade Ma Dashan, in the future, all your actions must be subject to my command, especially pay attention to secrecy, your true identity must not be revealed to anyone except me, violators will be severely punished!"

"Yes! Sir. ”

Inuyang Pingzhai stood at the door of the living room and bowed deeply to Xu Jinge, Xu Jinge returned an American-style military salute, and the two walked into the living room together and sat down.

Inuyang Pingzhai has long been without servants during the house arrest, and he has to do everything himself, he asked while making tea: "Mr. Xu, has your country's ** verified my identity concluded?" You know, it's been two years since the end of the war, and I miss my country and family very much, and I regret the efficiency of your country's work. ”

Xu Jinge replied politely: "Mr. Inukai Heisai, I have made a special trip to congratulate you today, and after screening, your identity has been confirmed, so you will be repatriated as a Japanese national, I congratulate you!" ”

Inuyang Pingzhai smiled faintly: "I think, this result is not what Mr. Xu wants, right?" ”

"Of course, frankly speaking, I am personally very dissatisfied with this conclusion, from the point of view of peers and opponents, I very much hope that you will disappear from this world forever, but I am soft-spoken, and there is no conclusive evidence, since I am a soldier, I can only take obedience to orders as my duty, and now I have to admit that you won."

"Thank you for your frankness, if I can return to my motherland, I will miss Mr. Xu, I still have that 7.62mm warhead, this is a testimony of the fate between you and me."

Xu Jinge took a sip of tea and said, "We're going to break up, let's talk casually, I don't know if you're interested?" ”

"Listen to it!"

"Let's talk about the war, even though it's been two years since this war ended, I'm still working on it. First of all, I would like to admit that although we won this war, it was only a miserable victory, and without the help of our allies, it is difficult to say whether we alone will win or lose. Not to mention, only the Battle of Yuxianggui in April 1944, oh, your army called 'Operation No. 1'. At that time, your army had already suffered heavy losses in the Pacific Ocean and the islands of the South Seas, and the occupation forces in China had also suffered great losses in combat strength after seven years of war attrition. In spite of this, your army still fulfilled its strategic goal of opening up the mainland's lines of communication, causing our army to suffer 500,000 or 600,000 casualties. I am thinking about such a question, although our army has made many mistakes, apart from the disparity in industrial strength between the two countries, the ability of generals to command campaigns and the quality of soldiers, what are the reasons? ”

"Mr. Xu, the war is over, what's the point of thinking about these questions again? Isn't Japan already defeated? ”

"It makes sense, this time you are defeated, but it is inevitable that there will be another war, even if the opponent is not Japan, it may be a certain power, I personally believe that as long as there are countries and nations in the world, then war is inevitable, what we need to do is to take precautions and make ourselves strong first."

"Oh, let me think about it...... Mr. Xu, you just mentioned the disparity in industrial power between the two countries, which is true, but this was only before the middle of the war, and since you have received support from the American allies, the conditions have changed dramatically. After 1943, your army's equipment and firepower have begun to surpass the Japanese army, and the Chinese and US air forces have also seized most of the air supremacy, but your army still cannot defeat us in ground battles, and the reason for this, I think, may be because you Chinese do not pay attention to operational planning and operational means. ”

"Oh, operations and operational means? I don't think I've thought about this yet, but I'd like to hear Mr. Inukai Heisai's opinion. ”

"Sima Qian, a historian of the Han Dynasty of your country, mentioned in the "Historical Records: The Biography of Sun Tzu Wu Qilie" that the Warring States Qi general Tian Ji and the King of Qi Wei raced horses, and each of them had three levels of horses. According to Sun Bin's strategy, Tian Ji used his lower, upper and middle horses to compete with King Qi's upper, middle and lower horses respectively, and the result was two wins and one loss. This reflects the classical idea of operational planning to achieve the greatest victory at the lowest cost by rearranging and combining the total forces under conditions of roughly equal total strength. When doing something or studying a problem, you must first be clear about what your purpose is, in other words, what kind of benefit are you pursuing, for example, if a general commands a campaign, his ultimate goal is to seize strategic points, or to maximize the destruction of the enemy's living forces, or to break through the siege? This is arguably the primary issue, and the purpose should be understood from the beginning until the purpose is achieved. If the purpose is unclear or wrong at first, then the work that follows is essentially in vain. In the case of the Battle of Nanking at the end of 1937, for example, General Tang Shengzhi of your country was a commander with a vague purpose. I have carefully studied this battle, but I still have not figured out what General Tang was going to do, first put on a posture of defending Nanjing, and cut off his own retreat to show his determination, almost all military observers at that time would think that the purpose of General Tang's campaign was to rely on the city of Nanjing to kill and damage the Japanese army to the greatest extent and gain time for the second line of defense, which is a reasonable reason. But my question is, if you plan to defend Nanjing, why don't you plan to engage in street fighting? When the positions on the outskirts of the city were lost one after another, he suddenly ordered a retreat, and he obviously didn't think about where to retreat, because he didn't leave a retreating ship at the Shimonoseki wharf, so General Tang gave another stupid order, and the troops broke through from the front. The following ending was terrible, and the army of more than 100,000 was routed like an avalanche. General Tang's initial campaign purpose was tested in actual combat, and all he got was a zero. It can be seen from this that war is a contest of overall strength, and here it is not only a contest of material aspects, but also a contest of wisdom, operational ability, and means of operation. ”

Xu Jinge nodded and agreed: "You have a point, I will carefully consider these problems and find out some regularities from them, in fact, what you said are all manifestations of creativity, I have to admit that the Yamato nation is indeed a creative nation, from Togo Heihachiro and Nogi Noshinori during the Russo-Japanese War to Yamamoto Fifty-six in this war, they are all outstanding generals, but have you ever considered what caused your defeat?" ”

Inukai Heisai shrugged his shoulders: "It's still lost in wisdom, operational planning and operational methods, and it's our country's decision-making mistakes." Although history has provided many opportunities to the Yamato nation, we have not seized them. If we had not been in a hurry to start a war in the Pacific; If we had adopted the strategy of 'going south' instead of 'going south' at the beginning, and if we had done everything we could in one battle during the 'Lugou Bridge Incident' in 1937 and had committed dozens of divisions at a time, instead of adopting the stupid strategy of gradually increasing our troops, then the defeated of today's war might have been China. Unfortunately, history never acknowledges any 'what ifs', and since we have lost the war, we have to admit the facts. ”

Xu Jinge stood up: "Mr. Inuyang Pingzhai, it was a pleasure to chat with you, and some of your insights have also benefited Xu a lot, I am very grateful!" Tomorrow is the day you return home, I won't send it, don't leave it today, I wish you a smooth journey. ”

Inukai Pingzhai bowed deeply: "We are coming to Japan, Mr. Xu, you also take care!" ”